InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5 <\/p>\n
WASHINGTON -- Chelsea Manning, the US soldier imprisoned for spilling state secrets, has said in an interview that much of her life has been marked by a lonely anguish over her gender identity. <\/p>\n
In her first interview from Fort Leavenworth military prison where she is serving out a 35-year sentence for a massive leak of classified documents, Manning, 27, described her life behind bars in an article published Wednesday in Cosmopolitan magazine. <\/p>\n
She said she is pained by rules that still forbid her from growing her hair long. <\/p>\n
After Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, was convicted and sentenced in 2013 for the massive document dump, the US Army private announced she was a female and requested medical treatment -- including hormone therapy -- to enable her to become a woman. <\/p>\n
Manning has won partial legal victories and judges have backed her request to be referred to as a woman. But while she is undergoing hormone therapy and allowed make-up and female underwear, authorities do not permit Manning to grow her hair long. <\/p>\n
Her appeals for medical care have been difficult because she feels \"like a joke\" to military officials, Manning told the magazine. <\/p>\n
It is \"painful and awkward\" to be banned from letting her hair grow, Manning said. <\/p>\n
\"I am torn up,\" Manning said. \"I get through each day OK, but at night, when I'm alone in my room, I finally burn out and crash.\" <\/p>\n
The magazine interview was conducted by mail, as military authorities prohibit inmates from speaking to journalists by phone or in person. <\/p>\n
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